The present state of the art for processing fresh pineapples is based upon the GINACA MACHINE, invented in 1914. The machine employs two concentric cylindrical knife blades which remove a cylindrical section of the pineapple along its core axis and then removes the butt and crown ends of the cylinder. The cylindrical section of the fruit is next processed by hand to remove any remaining shell, eyes and nectar ducts not removed by the outer Ginaca knife. The cylindrical shape of the removed section of fruit does not correspond to the true natural shape of the pineapple, which is ovoidal or egg shaped, thereby leaving a large amount of high quality solid pack to be recovered as less profitable crushed pineapple or juice.
Attempts have been made to develop a contour peeler whereby the pineapple is rotated about its core axis along a peeler knife to peel the shell by following the outer contour of the fruit. This method was ultimately unsuccessful, however, because the pineapple, especially soft ripened pineapple, could not withstand the mechanical stress.
Some labor and fruit savings have been realized by an attachment to the Ginaca Machine that automatically removes most excess shell left by the Ginaca Machine. This, while an improvement, does not address the basic problem of lost fruit from the mid-section of the pineapple, or the labor intensive hand trimming of the fruit following the Ginaca processing.